What Nigerians are saying about the disastrous Lagos plane crash

InformAfrica — Nigerians are not smiling – not after a faulty Dana plane carrying 153 passengers crashed into a two storey building in Lagos on Sunday, killing all passengers on-board including over 60 people on ground. This is probably the most disastrous incident to happen in Nigeria this year.

Officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said the pilot reported engine trouble shortly before Flight NJ992 went down as it was nearing the airport in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, according to local media reports. (Photo: Jobberman)

InformAfrica snooped around the web for what Nigerians are saying about the Lagos plane crash and hereby bring you their influential commentaries. If you would like to have your comments appear on InformAfrica also, feel free to use the comment box at the end of this story to add yours.

What Nigerians Are Saying

Okikiola Beckley: Nigeria is one of the few places this can happen. The airline industry is highly regulated. Aeroplanes go for checks regularly and the results of these checks are verified by the regulators,if they are not satisfied with the result of any check,the aircraft is grounded until all issues are resolved. Because of the endemic corruption in our system,regulators are compromised and they certify all aircrafts that are brought before them as fit to fly,once they are ‘settled’. For instance an aeroplane that is supposed to go for a check after 200hrs of flying will still be flying after more than 500hrs without this check and it’s books duly signed that it passed this check.

The average Nigerian is ready to do anything for immediate material gains,ignoring the fact that some of thee actions can be injurious to the public at large,himself and his family members Compounding everything is the culture of impunity,nobody gets punished for any wrong doing,so there is no way this will not occur again if we continue like this.

For the frequent flyer in Nigeria,I’ll recommend only one or two airlines if you must fly within the country. I won’t mention names here because I wasn’t paid to be a marketer on this thread.

Wallata: After the airline has been made to pay heavily for the lives of the 153 lost, the top management that the report was made to and insisted the plane should fly should be jailed for life for murder and the airline, its owners / sponsors should be banned from operating in Africa.

Ikpeme Ubong: The problem boils down from the top. The staff and management of Nigerian authority does not see reasons why the shouldnt collect kickbacks when the president and the legislators are toiling the same part. Nobody monitors anything. Frankly, when a president has the interest of the people she governs, then nothing can easily go wrong.

Adex: look the aviation industry is not a place where a whistle blower will survival it just unfortunate that what happen happened,a lot of faulty aircraft have been put on air with passengers on board several times, if the Dana staff lady blow the whistle the authority will tell her ”na today that one dey happen”( is like telling the police that people smoke cannabis aka igbo in African Shrine) and report to her employer then she is back on the street,this is the only country where one person cater for several people that are not employed but employable.Please don’t blame the lady blame the system.

Bukky Adesope: The management should be sued, jailed and banned from the flight business entirely because they might end up taking more lives since human lives means nothing to them. May God reward them according to their deeds.

May the soul of the departed rest in peace and may God grant their families the fortitude to bear the loss #danacrash

Nwagboh Chuks: In the name of allowing foreign investors all kinds of human being enter this country to dupe the innocent citizens. For crying out loud how can a country like India be allowed to float an airline knowing fully well that the only road an average indian knows is that of cheating. No indian company in this country carry out its activities in the best way going from their textile to drug manufacturing. It is high time we define our true position with all these dubious companies coming in this country just to cheat,kill,steal,fake and evade taxes. One can conjecture that all these hospitals run by indians must be administering sub-standard drugs and charging patients as if they are getting the best. Our Government should try all those concerned in this crash after thorough investigations and jail all found guilty for life as a deterent to others. Can a Nigerian company commit such in India and if no why should a group of nonentities come here and waste the life of our citizens.Am sure by now the indians i know would have started running up and down to see whom they will offer bribe to cover this incident but woo betide whoever will compromise his/her stand on this issue.Indians and Chinese are part of our economic problems all in the name of trade liberalization. The Government should know whom to give what type of permit to do business. Iam pained by this incident and it should be used to check all other activities of theirs.

Omobolaji Ajai: I don’t think Dana Air is the only culprit in this scenario. In February 2012, i had cause to travel from Ibadan to Abuja and had to fly by Associated Airlines. To say that i was queasy throughout the duration of the flight is an understatement. I think if that lady had actually tried to inform the authorities, nothing probably would have happened and she would have probably lost her job because someone at the the regulatory authorities would have exposed her. Really it is a catch 22 situation the way things happen in this country.

Lawal: The dirty water from the gutter poured by the residence into the aircraft to help quench the fire might have accelerated the death of some of the victims.

OH NIGERIA

ALL top aviation aviation directors including minister should be sack. Replace them with someone who has lost his or her beloved ones in this disaster. Then We shall experience a major transformation of the aviation industry because the new guys will approach the much needed transformation with anger like Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State.

Anonymous: one of the air hostesses used to be a friend to a relative of mine and had complained bitterly about the same airplane.she could not resign because no job in Nigeria and now she died in the ill-fated plane .The management of Dana Air should face man slaughter charges to deter others from practicing this kind of evil .May the soul of the departed rest in perfect peace.

Elias Offor: Please Air Nigeria should equally be subjected to serious check; I had a terrible experience when in January I flew it from Lagos to Abuja; The flight was delayed for one hour and after that, we sat in the plane for close to 30mins and finally had to spend an hour 10mins before landing. Nigerians have the attitude of complacency especially the passengers; when I was complaining together with a lady that sad beside me, men where busy reading their novels and some even plugged all sort of earphones. A stitch in time they say saves nine.

Osahon: My heart goes to those who died in the crash, their families, friends and Nigeria. May be this crash was avoidable if the national airline regulations were strictly adhere to or may be the plane was doom to crash due to certain inadequacies that were not solve for one reason or the other and in either case, it is unacceptable expecially when it is a matter regarding to life. 3 days of mourning is good in respect to those who died, but it’s not enough and it will be a dis-service to them and the nation if lessons are not learned with a view to prevent future occurrence of similar accidents. We do not know whose turn is next in this kind of accident! PLEASE do something tangible to STOP it!! else it may just be your turn!!!

Ernest Okojie: Things happen in this country and in this country alone. We are ever so patient. How can rational and sane human beings created by God willfully sacrifice innocent lives, also created by the same God, at the altar of profit? Whether the plane was faulty or not is not debatable, fact is young, aged and promising generations have been murdered! And as is customary with the country, the murderers would be applauded and given express licence to commit further crimes and heap heavy sorrow on millions of Nigerians. I stand to be corrected, nobody has ever been jailed for complicity in plane crashes in this country, nobody has ever publicly admitted to have made an error of judgement leading to plane a crash. Withdrawal of operating licence or payment of compensation alone is not sufficient. We need to stop these kind of Boko Haram in the air! The government need to make these people pay! Jail term for murder in the first degree and manslaughter are appropriate sanctions! But these are my musings, will it ever happen? I weep for the lives that are snuffed out daily by some people’s greed. A pity!

Dr. Tochukcwu O.: Why are we acting surprised? Didn`t we all read the article on THIS DAY newspaper on 22nd May 2012 by a great Nigerian who raised an alarm about this same plane that crashed? Read that article published about 2weeks ago and you`ll find out every1 had been expecting Dana air flight 0992 to have crashed long before now. Please Dana management should stop making a fool of smart Nigerians. READ THAT ARTICLE ON THIS DAY NEWSPAPER…22/5/2012

Musatela: This is yet another shocking revelation of a brutal killing of innocent precious Nigerian lives. Why Nigeria? Why must heartless people like the Dana killers be allowed to operate in Nigeria? What kind of punishment can bring back the lives lost in this wanton act? What amount of compensation can heal the irreparable loss to families of the victims? What measures can forestall this kind of crime from happening again? When will our governments stop the killing of innocent Nigerians by allowing the importation and the operation of aged airplanes into the country? Who are the collaborators in this one terrorist act? When will they be brought to account for their crimes? We need answers to all our HOWS? WHYS? WHENS? WHOS? WHERES? Yes, we need answers very fast as we mourn the deaths of our Bretheren. MAY THEIR PRECIOUS INNOCENT SOULS REST IN PERFECT PEACE.

Jimmy: This tragedy is just one of the many symptoms and complications of the malady affecting Nigeria… It was some other airlines yesterday, it is Dana today…… It is not just about stoning the owner of Dana or suing the management or blaming the woman who in my opinion couldn’t have done anything concrete to prevent the incident (in a society like Nigeria, maybe should would have been able to prevent it in some other sane societies). This is about laying down a good and productive structure or system. This sort of tragedy is not new in Nigeria, we just run around when one happens, make noise, make temporary adjustments and then relax again…. We have a long way to go and we need to start by first having respect and value for human lives… Putting in place a sustained efficient system that will prevent further such occurrences is what we need now. May God have mercy on Nigeria!

As Nigerian authorities are carrying diligent investigation into the cause of the Dana plane crash on Sunday in Lagos State, InformAfrica urge fellow Nigerians, Africans, and the world at large to put in their prayers – the lives of those lost – that they may rest peacefully in the highest places and also the courage for the families of the deceased to bear the great lose.

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